The present invention relates to method and system for providing enhanced call service features at remote locations and, more particularly, to method and system for providing PBX-like functionality at any away-from-the-office location.
During the past decade, the number of professionals that xe2x80x9ctelecommutexe2x80x9d (i.e., work at home or other xe2x80x9cvirtual officexe2x80x9d locations) has increased significantly. Although the proliferation of various types of computing and telephony equipment has enabled these workers to be effective, there remain a number of office-related advantages that cannot, without great expense, be duplicated at home. Additionally, in situations where an individual spends a significant amount of time traveling, it becomes even more difficult to provide certain advantages, such as PBX-based telecommunication features as are found in most conventional office environments. A private branch exchange (PBX) switch is commonly known in the art as a system useful in providing certain calling features such as abbreviated dialing, call transfer, hold, mute, and others, within an office complex served by the PBX switch. One exemplary PBX switch is the Definity(trademark) switch sold by Lucent Technologies.
A PBX switch may be located xe2x80x9con sitexe2x80x9d as customer premise equipment xe2x80x94CPExe2x80x94(one example of CPE being the Definity switch sold by Lucent) or located within the communications network and used by one or more different customers. An exemplary network-based PBX is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,742,596 issued to Y. Baratz et al. on Apr. 21, 1998. With a network-based PBX, the various office locations may be referred to as xe2x80x9cremotexe2x80x9d in the sense that the physical office locations need to establish a link with the network-based PBX to obtain the desired functionality. The office stations themselves, however, are equipped with the traditional PBX station set equipment. The actual location of the PBX switch, therefore, is of no concern to the office worker.
In some situations, xe2x80x9ctelecommutersxe2x80x9d have incurred the expense of adding an additional phone line, or ISDN, to handle the increase in telephony traffic associated with working at home. While this solution is acceptable in some situations, it quickly becomes an expensive alternative for the employer. Further, the xe2x80x9ctravelingxe2x80x9d employee has no xe2x80x9chome officexe2x80x9d within which to install such equipment, remaining disadvantaged with respect to the personnel at a traditional work location. Indeed, the technology deployed at the home office may xe2x80x9clagxe2x80x9d the latest PBX-based innovations found in the office.
Thus, a need remains for an arrangement capable of emulating features such as those found on a standard PBX for xe2x80x9cremote workersxe2x80x9d such as the telecommuting employee or the traveling employee.
The need remaining in the prior art is addressed by the present invention, which relates to method and system for providing enhanced call service features at remote locations and, more particularly, to method and system for providing PBX-like functionality at any away-from-the-office location.
In accordance with the present invention, an individual at a location xe2x80x9cremotexe2x80x9d from the office may now have xe2x80x9cPBX-likexe2x80x9d capabilities, with all communications being controlled by a remote office platform, linked to the remote worker. In particular, the remote office platform is linked to the office PBX system. Features such as abbreviated dialing for in-house calls, call forwarding, call transfer, hold, three-way calling, secretarial pick-up, and more, are provided at a remote location where an individual can connect to the remote platform and have a user interface display available. The graphical user interface (GUI), in a preferred embodiment, is a xe2x80x9csoft phonexe2x80x9d, displaying a PBX station-like set-up including a handset, call feature buttons, a message center, and the like.
The system of the present invention uses a remote office platform that communicates with both the office PBX and a data network coupled to the remote office location. The remote office platform includes the software necessary to xe2x80x9cpushxe2x80x9d the GUI to the remote device and also comprises a database including necessary information regarding each employee permitted to access the xe2x80x9cvirtual PBXxe2x80x9d system. Once activated by a remote worker, the remote office platform communicates with the office PBX so as to communicate all PBX-based requests from the remote location back to the office PBX. In the other direction, all incoming calls to the remote worker""s PBX extension are forwarded by the PBX to the remote office platform and, ultimately, to the remote location. The term xe2x80x9coffice PBXxe2x80x9d as used throughout this discussion is considered to include a customer-premise PBX, a network-based PBX (perhaps being shared by a number of different subscribers), or any other suitable PBX architecture.
In operation of the method of the present invention, a remote worker first dials in to the remote office platform and is authenticated. Voice connectivity between the office PBX and remote worker can be provided over whatever telephony connection exists at the remote location (POTS over PSTN, cable, fixed wireless, among others). Data connectivity, used both for xe2x80x9cpushingxe2x80x9d the GUI interface and transferring all call requests between the remote worker and the remote office platform, may be provided by any suitable data network including, but not limited to, the internet. Ultimately and with the advance of IP telephony, only a single communications network will be needed to support both the voice and data traffic. Since the xe2x80x9cremotexe2x80x9d worker may be at any location, the system of the present invention is equally applicable in an international environment, where the xe2x80x9cremotexe2x80x9d worker may be in another country and access the remote office platform via an international connection.
Other and further features of the present invention will become apparent during the course of the following discussion and by reference to the accompanying drawings.